STUDYING THE PLAY 

By Allison Gaw 




■^^;&%0i^:': 



. 



STUDYING THE PLAY 



dA Questionnaire Method 



BY 



ALLISON GAW 

Head of the Department of English 
University of Southern California 



1921 

University of Southern California Press 

Los Angeles, California 






Copyright, 1921 
By Allison Gaw 



©CIA622191 

ML 26 1921 



^Vv& 



Studying the Play 

e/f Questionnaire Method 
I. Formative Influences at Work in the Play 

Note: A play is usually the result of the interaction of 
at least four influences: — the author; the early audiences; 
the theatrical structure for which it was first written, 
with the involved possibilities and limitations ; and the 
original producing company. It may also show the 
effects of the influence of any of five others — a source of 
the plot (in literature or in life), a special occasion for 
which it was written, a regisseur (or a stage manager), a 
reviser, and (in the printed form only) an editor. 

a. (1) At what date was the play written? (2) At 
what date was it first produced? (3) At what date was 
it first published? (4) What is the evidence for these 
dates ? 

b. Was this play affected by the tastes and prejudices of 
any given audience? If so, in what way? 

c. How was it affected by the physical conditions of the 
theatre for which it was written (as to picture-stage or 
platform-stage, the size of the stage, the size of the audi- 
torium, the presence or absence of scenery, the nature of 
the scenery, the lighting conditions, and so on) ? Try to 
visualize the original performance. 

d. (1) Was the play written for a given company? 
(2) How many players would be required for its per- 
formance? (3) Was the structure of the play or were 
the characterizations in it affected by the physique, the 
temperament, or the special abilities of any of the actors 
intended for the various roles? (4) Is the charac- 
terization of any role traditional from the actor who 
"created" it? 



4 STUDYING THE PLAY 

e. Was anything in the plot or the characterization de- 
rived from a source or sources in literature or in life, or 
was the drama in any way affected by a parallel treat- 
ment of the subject with which the author was familiar? 

/. (1) How much is the essential personality of the 
author evident in the play, as suggested by what you 
know of the facts of his life and the nature of his other 
works? How is this personality manifested? (2) Did 
the author perhaps revise the play after the lapse of 
several years? If so, is it possible to distinguish between 
his earlier and later work by style or other traits ? 

g. Have the additions or changes been made by other 
hands, such as a regisseur, a reviser, or an editor? What 
is the evidence ? Are there stylistic or other differences ? 

h. Are there any other particularly interesting facts in 
the stage or editorial history of the play? 

II. The General Nature of the Play 

a. Is the play primarily a drama of plot-action, of char- 
acter, of idea, of atmosphere, of spectacle, or of dia- 
logue? (It is possible, although not probable, that two 
or more of these interests are balanced.) Questions b-f 
following will aid you to give your reasons. 

b. Is there much action in the story? Is it sensational? 
exciting generally ? at all ? 

c. Have you generally natural characters (i. e., charac- 
ters that are life-like) in natural situations? Or un- 
natural characters in natural situations? Or natural 
characters in unnatural situations? Or unnatural char- 
acters in unnatural situations? Discuss. (In this con- 
nection make some allowance for the idealizing effect of 
verse if the play be cast in that form.) 

d. (1) Is the play perhaps founded upon an initial situ- 
ation that is improbable? If so, granting the initial as- 
sumption, is what follows probable? (2) Has any at- 



STUDYING THE PLAY 5 

tempt been made to make the improbable circumstances 
seem probable ? Explain. 

e. (1) Does the play leave you impressed with any 
moral or spiritual conception? Or with any material 
(sociological, political, or vocational) thought? If so, 
what? (2) Does the writer appear to have written with 
any other object than to produce a work of art? In 
intention is he primarily an artist, an entertainer, a 
moralist, or a propagandist? Does he preach? (3) On 
sober reflection do you agree with his ideas? Why or 
why not? 

/. Distinguishing sharply between dialogue that ad- 
vances plot-action, dialogue that interprets the character 
of the speaker, dialogue that emphasizes the dominant 
thought of the scene, dialogue that gives atmosphere or 
aids the imagination to conceive the setting, and dialogue 
written primarily for the sake of its own epigrammatic 
or rhetorical brilliance, attempt to determine which of 
these various types appear in the play. Which pre- 
dominates? Does any passage accomplish two or more 
of these purposes at once? 

g. Classify the play as belonging to one of the ordinarily 
accepted types of drama, as tragedy, comedy, melodrama, 
farce, and the like. Give your reasons. 

h. Classify the play as poetic, rhetorical, or prosaic in 
tone. If poetic, is its effect primarily epic, lyric, or 
dramatic ? 

i. Is the play realistic in method ; i. e., does it earnestly 
seek to present character or atmosphere as they have 
been actually observed in life, and with psychological 
truth? Or does it belong to the romantic school; i. e., 
does it strike a note above the natural, either by treating 
material that is strikingly adventurous or non-human, or 
by idealizing character, sentiment, or atmosphere with- 
out attempting photographic fidelity to detail? Or is it 
intentionally satirical, either humorously or bitterly pic- 
turing life, especially in its reputedly great moments, 



6 STUDYING THE PLAY 

depreciatingly and with exaggeration of human imper- 
fections (cf. Joan of Arc in / Henry VI, or Philip Moel- 
ler's Helena's Husband)? (2) Or is its material of one 
of the above types and its treatment of another? If so, 
is the combination artistically effective ? 

/. Is the play perhaps symbolic, either by general alle- 
gorical intention, or by the introduction of persons or 
objects having a special significance aside from their 
function in the development of the plot? If so, how is 
the symbolism made clear? 

k. (1) Is the play stageable? (2) Does it act well? 
(3) Are there any important scenes or parts that depend 
for their effectiveness upon action without words ? 

/. In the light of this paper as a whole, do you find the 
author most interesting as philosopher, as poet (epic, 
lyric, or dramatic), as observer and interpreter of human 
nature, as story-teller, as dramatic technician, or as 
stylist ? 

III. The Organization of the Plot Material 

a. Is the drama progressive; i. e., is it a drama of ad- 
vancing plot-action (as in Othello) ? Or is it static; i. e., 
is it a drama of mere situation and atmosphere (as in 
Maeterlinck's The Blind) or of discussion (as in Shaw's 
Getting Married) ? 

b. *(1) Has one of the characters a definite aim that 
he (she) is attempting to accomplish throughout the 
play? *(2) Is he (she) the central character or pro- 
tagonist (as in Macbeth), or the antagonist (as in 
Othello) ? *(3) What are his (her) motives? (Always 
carefully distinguish between the motives of the char- 
acter in an action and the artistic purpose of the author 
in making him so act.) *(4) What are the obstacles to 
his accomplishing his purpose ? the will, actions, or mere 

* Questions that form the starting point for elementary study 
are marked with an asterisk throughout these pages. 



STUDYING THE PLAY 7 

existence of another person? the moral law? fate? the 
supernatural ? his own nature ? social opinion ? social con- 
ditions? mere accident? or something other than any of 
these? *(5) What special qualities in himself, and what 
assistance (conscious or unconscious) from others, aid 
him in his attempts? *(6) Are the obstacles removed? 
by his own acts? the acts of others? the act of God (or 
the author) ? (7) How far, and by what means, are 
your sympathies directed toward the central character 
by the author? Are you sympathies in any respect 
against him? (8) How far, and by what means, are 
your sympathies directed against the opposing character 
(the antagonist) ? Are your sympathies in any respect 
with him? (9) What effect have the facts of (7) and 
(8) on the dramatic tension of the play? (10) Or is 
the protagonist a pair (as in Romeo and Juliet), or a 
group (as in Hauptmann's The Weavers) ? Or are two 
sets or groups evenly balanced (as in Galsworthy's 
Strife) ? 

c. (1) How many characters in the play? (2) En- 
deavor to group them according as they favor or oppose 
the efforts of the chief active characters. Is the action 
of each in the matter conscious or unconscious? Does 
any character shift from a favoring to an opposing atti- 
tude, or vice versa, during the action of the play? Has 
this any determining effect upon the outcome? (3) Are 
any characters or character-groups indifferent to the 
main action? If so, what is his (her, their) function? 
(Cf. Ill, n.) (4) Is there any marked symmetry (or 
balance) of two groups? (5) Are there any link- 
characters connecting two groups and thus giving the 
play greater coherence? (6) Could any character be 
dispensed with? Would it be better so? 

d. *(1) In structure does the play belong to the syn- 
thetic type, presenting the whole conflict from beginning 
to end, with Exposition, Rise, Crisis, Fall, and Close (as 
in Romeo and Juliet) ? Or does it belong to the analytic 



8 STUDYING THE PLAY 

(retrospective or catastrophic) type, presenting only the 
consequences in the final scenes of the story (as in 
Ibsen's Ghosts) ? Or is the play constructed on a model 
different from either the five-part Rise-and-Fall or 
the analytic type? If so, what? (Cf. /. Tamburlaine') 
(2) Could the story be better told in one of the other 
forms? (Distinguish this question, as a whole, carefully 
from III, a.) 

e. (1) In the case of a play of the synthetic type, locate, 
if possible, the five parts : Exposition, Rise, Crisis, Fall, 
and Close. (2) Has it an "exciting force" near the be- 
ginning, forcing the action up the Rise? (3) Has it a 
"tragic force" near the middle, forcing the action down 
the Fall? (4) Has it a final "force of suspense"? 
(5) Has the play a "big scene"? What? (6) What 
parts of the story are given on the stage and what are 
given indirectly by narrative later? Are any sections 
given by characters looking off-stage (as in The Weavers, 
IV, V) ? Do sounds of cries come from off-stage? 
Could any part be more effectively treated by one of the 
other methods indicated in (6) ? 

/. In the case of a play of the analytic type, locate in 
the story (as distinguished from the play) : the initial 
conditions, the critical decision, and the outcome. How 
much of the story is actually represented in the play? 
Does the play contain either the main or a subordinate 
Crisis of the story? 

g. (1) Is the play divided into Acts? How many? 
Why exactly this division? Discuss. (2) Are two or 
more successive conflicts to be traced in a given Act (cf. 
Monna Vanna) ? (3) Are the Acts, or any of them, 
divided into Scenes? On what principle? How many 
Scenes in all? Why this number? 

h. The Opening : * ( 1 ) Why open the play at that pre- 
cise locality, and at that moment of that day? (2) Do 
the opening scenes hold interest in themselves ? By what 
methods? Is any excitement or stir created, even about 



STUDYING THE PLAY 9 

an unessential, for a curtain-raising of action? *(3) Do 
the opening scenes reveal the past? Naturally? Subtly? 
Over how much of the play does this revelation of the 
situation preceding the opening of the play (the "exposi- 
tion") extend? (4) Do they prepare for the future? 
How? *(5) Does the first scene "strike the key-note" 
of the mood of the play? How? What mood? (6) 
Does Act I effectively introduce all the important char- 
acters? Is the identity of each character clearly estab- 
lished at his or her first appearance? By what means? 
How r much does the Act reveal of their personalities? 

(7) Is the entrance of the principal character delayed? 
Is it prepared for in the preceding dialogue? Is it given 
a special emphasis by the display of significant character 
traits or language, by costume, or by stage management? 

(8) Are any characters introduced merely to facilitate 
the exposition? (9) Is the opening handled with strik- 
ing ingenuity? If so, how? 

i. The Crisis: *(1) Is there a supreme crucial moment 
in the play, emphasized by the author and involving an 
incident or a decision that, if reversed, would have com- 
pletely altered the Close? (2) Is the Crisis located to 
advantage? Where? (3) Is it staged to advantage? 
How? (4) Does the plot "zigzag" up to the Crisis 
through alternating excitement and calm? (5) Is the 
Crisis sharply pointed by negative preparation ; i. e., is 
there a feeling that "All is lost" until, by a quick reversal, 
"All is won"? (6) Is there a long "big speech" at the 
Crisis? (7) Is the effect of the Crisis heightened by 
surprise, either at the method of bringing about the 
Crisis, or at its method of solution, or by a "tag" imme- 
diately following? (8) Is the Crisis followed by a "quick 
curtain" or dulled by following speeches of a lower 
pitch? Is the handling of the technique here a matter of 
the taste of the author or the demands of the staging? 

/. The Close: *(1) Does the main conflict of the play 
continue to the end of the last Act? (2) Does the Fall 



10 STUDYING THE PLAY 

hold the attention as closely as the Rise? (3) Is the sus- 
pense maintained to the very end? By the introduction 
of new complications, or how? *(4) Is the end the 
inevitable result of character? *(5) Is the outcome 
ethical? (6) Is the end determinate or indeterminate; 
i. e., is tranquillity completely re-established, or do you 
wonder concerning the permanency of the solution? 
(7) Has it taken particular skill to avoid an anticlimax? 
Is any other method of climax employed than the plotted 
end-heightening of the "well-made play" ? Is the ending 
emphatic through action, situation, surprise, irony (cf. 
The Weavers), pictorial effect, or thought? Or (as in 
The Madras House) is it not emphatic at all? (8) What 
are the final words, to whom are they given, and why? 
(9) Is any special device used to emphasize the dominant 
impression of the end (cf. Hamlet, Twelfth Night, The 
Passing of the Third Floor Back) ? 

k. *(1) Are there subplots, one or more? Loosely or 
intimately connected with the main plot? (2) Parallel 
with the main plot, in contrast with it, a comic relief to 
a serious main theme, or in any other specific relation? 
(3) Or is there perhaps a play within the play? If so, 
what is its function? 

/. (1) Is the plot simple, complex, compound, or com- 
pound-complex? (2) Has the play Unity of Plot? 

(3) Is any special device used to strengthen the plot- 
unity (as the curse and the ghosts in Richard III) ? 

(4) Has the play Unity of Mood (cf. Lady Winder- 
mere's Fan) ? 

m. Outside of the subplots, are there any incidents that 
do not help to bring about the final outcome? If so, do 
they serve any other purpose, such as throwing addi- 
tional light upon any important character? Illustrate. 
(See also questions under Scene, VII, a.) 

n. Are minor characters introduced to forward the plot, 
or to act as confidantes, or to give necessary information 



STUDYING THE PLAY 11 

to the audience, or by their comments to interpret the 
actions of the principal characters, or to give the spec- 
tator the feeling of approaching misfortune, or from his- 
torical interest, or for comic value, or for several of these 
reasons, or why? 

o. (1) Is the setting of any importance as affecting the 
character and through them the plot? If so, how? (2) 
Or does any part of the setting act directly as a part of 
the plot machinery? If so, how? (3) Is the setting true 
in facts and atmosphere to the supposed time and place 
(cf. The Terrible Meek) ? 

p. Which, if any, of the following conventional "ex- 
traneities, ,, formally distinct from the sequence of the 
dramatic dialogue proper, are used? Discuss the reason 
for the employment of any that occur. (1) The Induc- 
tion (or Frame). (2) The Chorus. (3) The Dumb 
Show. (4) The Prologue. (5) The Epilogue (some- 
times in the form of a Cast Epilogue). 

q. Are topical allusions or other extraneous material 
introduced into the dialogue? Why introduced? How 
introduced — skillfully motivated or crudely dragged in to 
raise a laugh? 

r. Is any plot thread, any incident, any character, or 
any other dramatic element given a disproportionate em- 
phasis ? Discuss. 

s. If there is an accessible source of plot, compare the 
play with it to determine what changes the dramatist has 
made, and why. 

t. (1) What is the relation of the title to the play? 
Does it emphasize the central character (as Macbeth, 
The Bohemian Girl), or some other principal character 
(as The Merchant of Venice) ; the main plot (as Love's 
Labour's Lost), or a subplot (as The Maid's Tragedy) ; 
some incident in the play (as The Tempest) ; the thesis 
of the play (as Man and Superman) ; the scene of the 



12 STUDYING THE PLAY 

play (as Sherwood) ; the historical background of the 
play (as The Siege of Rhodes) ; the atmosphere of the 
play (as A Midsummer-Night's Dream) ; the occasion or 
time of presentation (as Twelfth Night) ; or some pecu- 
liar element in the nature of the play (as The Adventures 
of Five Hours) ? (2) Is the title compound (as George 
Barnwell; or, The London Merchant)? If so, why? 
(3) Is the title fortunately selected, combining signifi- 
cance and attractiveness? Explain. Could you suggest 
a better title for the play? (4) Does his choice of a title 
throw any light upon the purpose or intended appeal of 
the author (as Everyman, Intolerance, Where Is Your 
Daughter, Silk Hosiery) ? 

IV. The Characters 

a. (1) How many are in the cast? (2) State the rela- 
tions of the principal characters. (3) Are they strik- 
ingly contrasted? Do characters of even similar func- 
tions show distinctive traits (as the three Shepherds in 
the Second Shepherd's Play, or the brothers in The 
Thunderbolt) ? Or, on the contrary, are characters given 
speaking parts ever grouped, without individualizing 
touches, in one class (as Bakers 1, 2, 3, and 4 in Cyrano 
de Bergerac) ? *(4) Do you know only the actions of the 
characters ; or their actions and motives ; or their actions, 
motives, and thoughts ; or their actions, motives, thoughts, 
and moods? (5) Does the characterization of any char- 
acter anywhere appear inconsistent? Discuss. 

b. In the case of tragedy, is the hero conceived accord- 
ing to Aristotle's dictum that the tragic hero should be 
a royal and naturally virtuous individual with a weak- 
ness that causes his downfall? 

c. Select an important character. (1) Is he living or a 
lay figure? *(2) Does he interest you merely as one of 
a class (Duke, American, banker, tramp), or are per- 
sonal and individualizing traits added? (3) Is the por- 
trayal of him firmly handled from his first speech on? 



STUDYING THE PLAY 13 

What does that speech tell you of him? *(4) Endeavor 
to establish his motive or motives at every important 
stage in the action of the play. Discuss his methods and 
their ethics. (5) Is he a simple or a complex character? 
(6) Does he go through a spiritual crisis or struggle? 
Is he stationary; or does he develop, growing morally 
better or worse? Is such development psychologically 
natural as presented ? Or does your attitude toward him 
change because you come to know him better (cf. Trivul- 
zio in Monna Vanna) ? (7) Is he portrayed at length; 
or vitally projected in a very few words (cf. Cordelia in 
Lear) ? (8) How is his character revealed? by his plot 
action ? by dialogue ? by soliloquy ? by his stage business ? 
by opinions expressed by others? by the actions of 
others? by "acting scenery"? by the author's description 
of him in the list of dramatis personae or in stage direc- 
tions ? 

d. (1) Are the characters anywhere individualized by a 
mere superficial peculiarity or idiosyncrasy? Are any 
traits exaggerated or distorted? Cite. (See also VIII, 
c, 11-12.) (2) Study the choice and connotations of the 
names of the characters (as Justice Shallow, Orlando, 
Cordelia, Borachio, Roebuck Ramsden, John Tanner, 
Zweifel). 

e. (1) What is the author's attitude toward his char- 
acters ? Does he worship them, admire them, sympathize 
with them, criticize them, or seem hostile to them? Or 
does he simply coolly dissect them? (2) Is any one of 
the characters apparently the author's mouthpiece ? 

/. Does the author really understand human nature? 
Or does he apparently understand some types of in- 
dividual and not others? Discuss, with illustrations. 

g. (1) Are the characters typical of the age and^place 
in which the play was written? (2) In the case of a 
play in which the scene is laid in some other age than the 
author's, does characterization of the author's own period 



14 STUDYING THE PLAY 

ever intrude into the drama (cf. Androcles and the 
Lion) ? How, and why ? 

h. Does any character strike you as being of a type not 
found earlier in the history of the drama (cf. the insane 
father and the Machiavellian villain in The Spanish 
Tragedy; The Unchastened Woman) ? 

V. The Theme 

a. *(1) Has the play a theme (philosophic, religious, 
scientific, sociological, political, mercantile, or the like) ? 
If so, state it. (2) Is it explicitly expressed by a char- 
acter ; or is it implicit in portrayal or plot, thus appealing 
primarily to the auditor's emotions? (3) If expressed, 
is the expression naturally introduced? (4) Is it given 
especial emphasis by the circumstances of the stage situ- 
ation, or by its position in the structure of the play? 
(5) How soon in the play is the basic thought clearly 
enunciated ? 

b. (1) Is the thesis broadly human in subject, or is it 
propagandist? (2) Is it of universal or particular appli- 
cation as to characters, time, or place (cf. Rada and A 
Belgian Christmas Eve) ? (3) Is it in harmony with the 
principles of ethics? With universal ethics, or with the 
special ethical ideas of a particular place or period? (4) 
Is it of any real importance? (5) Is any particularly 
nice illustration of "poetic justice" prominent in the play? 

c. (1) What is the basis in the play for the ideas here 
advanced? (2) Is the author an optimist, a pessimist, or 
a "meliorist" ? (3) Is his attitude impassioned, argu- 
mentative, sweetly reasonable, humorous, satirical, flip- 
pant, self-congratulatorily clever, purely objective, or one 
of these masked as another? *(4) Is he sincere? What 
is the evidence of it? *(5) Does the author treat his 
subject fairly, doing full justice to both sides of the ques- 
tion? Does (can) this hurt his work as drama? *(6) 
Are his alleged typical cases really typical? Discuss. 



STUDYING THE PLAY 15 

(7) Does he fairly meet, or does he finally (consciously 
or unconsciously) evade, the issue? Or does he frankly 
leave the question in the form of a problem, with an in- 
determinate ending? (8) Do you agree with the author 
in his thesis? Why or why not? (9) As to the basic 
thought, do you find the play more convincing in per- 
formance than in reading? If so, can you explain this? 

d. (1) So far as you know, how far does the author 
deal, in his other works, with the same general field? 
(2) Does he, so far as you know, elsewhere advance 
the same thesis? (3) Have you any information as to 
how (by his family life? education? reading? associates? 
experience?) he gained his interest in the general field 
or in this especial thesis ? 

e. (1) Does the author appear to have a "philosophy of 
life^ ? Can you discover what he thinks concerning any 
of the following: (a) God; (b) man's present life; (c) 
man's destiny; (d) man's free will; (e) any political 
or legal system; (f) any economic system; (g) any so- 
ciological view; (h) any religious attitude; (i) any ethi- 
cal conception? (2) So far as you know, did his attitude 
change upon any of these points? 

/. Are the ideas or the sentiments expressed in the play 
especially characteristic of the period in which the drama 
was written? Discuss. 

VI. Methods, Devices, and Conventions of Dramatic 
Technique and Staging 

In general, dramatic technique aims (1) at heighten- 
ing the effect of the plot incidents, and yet (2) at making 
the heightened story appear natural and probable — due 
attention being paid to (3) the possibilities and limitations 
of production on the given stage. The heightening 
devices of Suspense, Crisis, Climax, and Surprise have 
already been indicated in Section III. In general, ques- 



16 STUDYING THE PLAY 

tions a-k below have to do with Heightening; questions 
l-n with Naturalness; questions o-q with Stage Limita- 
tions and Conventions. 

a. Does the dramatist make effective use of Contrast? 
*(1) Are the principal characters strikingly contrasted? 
How? Are minor characters in contrast with principal 
characters? With each other? (2) Are there any scenes 
of peripeteia, or sudden reversal of the fortunes of a 
character for better or for worse? (3) Is any char- 
acter torn with contrasted emotions (cf. The Merchant 
of Venice, III, i) ? (4) Is there any use of dramatic 
irony, where the audience knows the facts to be strikingly 
different from what the character speaking thinks? (5) 
Is there any use of dramatic reversal, where an action 
or speech brings about the direct contrary of what the 
character intended? (6) Is there any use of strikingly 
antithetical speeches in succession (cf. Richard III, I, 
ii) ? (7) Are there contrasts in costume effects? (8) 
Are there contrasts in scenic effects? Contrasts in light 
effects? (9) Are the contrasts effective? Are any "theat- 
rical," overdrawn? 

b. Does the dramatist make use of the devices of Simi- 
larity (Resemblance, Repetition, and Parallelism)? (1) 
Does the very possibility of the plot depend upon resem- 
blance (as in A Comedy of Errors) ? (2) Do several 
plot-threads base upon the same emotion or theme, thus 
blending into a harmonious whole (as in A Midsummer- 
night's Dream) ? (3) Do various plot-threads have the 
same complication, thus reenforcing each other (as in 
Lear) ? (4) Do character-groups parallel each other 
(as in Love's Labour's Lost) ? (5) Are there marked 
parallelisms in the characterizations of two individual 
characters or in their costuming? Why? (6) Is an 
Idea driven home by repetition either of thought, or 
word, or action (as in Les Avaries) ? (7) Is an Idea 
once introduced repeated later for an illuminating inter- 
pretation (as in The Will) ? (8) Are situations or inci- 



STUDYING THE PLAY 17 

dents repeated, either seriously (as in Gorboduc) or in 
conscious or unconscious burlesque? (9). Are either 
repetition or parallelism of speech employed, either seri- 
ously to give intensity to the thought, or for ironic con- 
trast, or as a stylistic device (as in stichomithia and 
euphuism) ? (10) Are there parallelisms in background 
(as in A Love Story of the Ages, I, III, IV), or in other 
scenic effects? For what purpose? (11) Is the repeated 
element effectively placed (as, for instance, to give the 
effect of rounding the circle), and is it given the proper 
proportionate emphasis? (12) In any of the above cases, 
is the repetition exact, or is it diversified for Variety, 
for Contrast, or for Climax? 

c. Is there any application of the principle of the "point 
of rest," either (1) to establish a standard of sanity (as 
Friar Lawrence in Romeo and Juliet) ; or (2) to give 
the contrast of unconscious impassiveness (as the babe 
in L'Interieur) ; or (3) physically in the stage setting of 
the scene? 

d. (1) Does the dramatist carefully mould the sym- 
pathies of the audience, inclining them toward certain 
characters and against others? (2) What devices does 
he employ to this end? Why? (3) Is it conceivable 
that the same plot might be treated with the audience's 
sympathies reversed? 

e. Are the Acts organically constructed? Are they cli- 
maxed? (Compare also the questions on the Individual 
Scene in Section VII). 

/. *(1) Is any attempt made to preserve Unity of Time 
or Unity of Place? (2) Determine the total supposed 
time-lapse between the beginning and the end of the 
play? Cite the passages upon which the estimate depends. 
(3) Are there any cases in which no time-lapse whatever 
is supposed to take place between consecutive Acts or 
Scenes? Or does the time of successive Acts or Scenes 
even overlap? (4) Is any time-lapse indicated in the 



18 STUDYING THE PLAY 

midst of an Act or Scene by a momentary dropping of 
the curtain? (5) Is any device employed to hasten time, 
and thus obtain greater condensation in the whole or in 
the individual Scene (cf. Othello, I, i; II, ii) ? (6) Is 
there any departure from strict chronological order in 
the succession of the acted parts? (7) How widely 
separated geographically are the places in which the 
action is supposed to take place? (8) Are widely separ- 
ated places represented on the stage at one time (cf. The 
Old Wives' Tale; Yes and No) ? (9) Is there any effect 
of isolation of place, either in the whole play or in the 
individual Scene (as in The Tempest; Macbeth, II) ? 

g. (1) Are any special methods used for the intensifi- 
cation of suspense (as in L'Interieur and A Night at an 
Inn) ? (2) Are any special devices used to increase the 
general impressiveness of a scene (cf. The Witch, V) ? 

h. (1) Are any atmospheric effects, such as storm, in- 
troduced organically into the play as background to the 
human situation, and to give it emphasis either by simi- 
larity or by contrast? In this respect observe especially 
the Crisis and the Close. 

i. (1) Is any use made of interpolated lyrics? Of 
interpolated music? Of sound effects? Of odor effects? 
(2) If so, what is the purpose? Realism? Plot-mech- 
anism ? Preparation ? Mood-emphasis ? Decoration ? 
Symbolism? To cover the passage of time? 

j. Is there any use of a repeated highly significant 
phrase (das Schlagwort) to enforce an idea important in 
the progress of the drama (as in the "compact majority" 
of An Enemy of the People) ? 

k. Is there any striking case of economy of dramatic 
means, i. e., of the accomplishment of several dramatur- 
gic purposes by the use of a single incident or device (cf. 
The Vikings of Helgeland, II) ? 



STUDYING THE PLAY 19 

/. (1) Is every action of every character in the play 
sufficiently, clearly, and naturally motivated; or do you 
sometimes feel that the author is simply pulling the 
wires of puppets, and that the characters are not acting 
for reasons of their own? Cite specific instances. (2) 
Are minor matters, such as entrances and exits, suf- 
ficiently and clearly motivated? 

m. (1) Is the preparation for coming events clear and 
sufficient, but not too obvious? (2) Is every character 
clearly identified for the audience on first entrance? 
How? (3) Are pithy speeches summarizing the dra- 
matic situation introduced just where the audience needs 
to be reminded of all the facts for an immediately fol- 
lowing effect? (4) Are special pains taken at any 
point to prepare for what would otherwise seem an im- 
probability ; or to divert attention from the improbability 
at a critical moment (cf. The Merchant of Venice, I, iii; 
Hamlet, I, i) ? (5) Is any character used to give the 
spectator the feeling of approaching ill (as Cassandra in 
Agamemnon) ? 

n. Are there any striking cases of good gradation (cf. 
Othello, III, iii) ? 

o. (1) Is the author compelled to face the problem of 
dealing with scenes that are essentially unstageable (as 
in Antony and Cleopatra, III, x) ? (Cf. Ill, e, 5.) How 
does he solve the problem? (2) Have the mechanical 
difficulties of stage presentation forced other changes 
(cf. The Hour Glass) ? Just how? 

p. Is there any use of any of the "dramatic conven- 
tions"? (1) Of the soliloquy? (2) Of the aside? (3) 
Of a conversation unheard by others on the stage? (4) 
Of pantomimic dialogue while others are talking? (5) 
Of foreign characters speaking English when their native 
tongue would be more natural? (6) Of quickened stage 
time? (7) Of the interposition of a supposed "fourth 
wall" between the stage and the audience? (8) Of the 



20 STUDYING THE PLAY 

interpolated tableau? (9) Of the carefully grouped full 
stage picture at the end of Acts? (10) Is a character 
ever apparently conscious of the presence of the audi- 
ence? -(H) Does the actor always refrain from turning 
his back on the audience when speaking? (12) In any 
given <^ase does the use of any one of these conventions 
appear objectionable? Why or why not? Does the type 
of play affect the matter? Why? (13) Has it appar- 
ently required special skill at any point to avoid the use 
of any one of these conventions? If so, what device was 
employed ? 

q. Is the scenery sympathetic? contrasted? interpre- 
tive of action or mood? realistic for verisimilitude? or 
neutral? Is any use made of ''acting scenery"? 

r. (1) How far is the technique of this dramatist based 
upon that of any other dramatist? Can you illustrate 
by comparison of works? (2) How far does this author 
use the same device in successive plays (cf. Shake- 
speare's cases of mistaken identity, girl pages, etc.) ? 

VII. An Individual Scene 

a. (1) In what sense is this a scene? (2) What is the 
purpose of the scene? Does it advance the action, give 
necessary information, indicate character, emphasize a 
mood, tranquillize the spectator after past emotion, give 
a quiet prelude to a coming emotional blow, supply com- 
edy relief, serve as a "division scene" to give time for 
change of scenery, cover a necessary change of costume, 
give opportunity for pageantry, add lyrical ornamenta- 
tion, contain interest of interpolated feats of physical 
strength or skill, or does it effect several of these ends? 

b. (1) If the scene is really a dramatic scene, what are 
the characters in conflict? (2) Is its seriousness indi- 
cated early in the passage? (3) Are its time relations 
with the preceding scene, and are the intervening events, 
also indicated early and with sufficient clearness? (4) 



STUDYING THE PLAY 21 

Study the psychological reactions of character on char- 
acter (cf. The Red Robe, II). (5) Is there a crisis? 
If so, is the scene balanced about the crisis, rising to and 
falling away from it in fairly equal proportions (as in 
The Merchant of Venice, IV, i) ; or does it rise to the 
crisis and end sharply in it (as in Lady Windermere's 
Fan, III)? (6) Is there suspense? How produced? 
Is there anywhere a temporary balking of the expecta- 
tion of the audience for additional suspense? (7) Is 
there striking gradation? (8) Is there a "strong cur- 
tain"? (9) Does the scene anywhere contain links bind- 
ing it to a coming scene? How? (10) Indicate the im- 
portant "plot-lines. " 

c. Are there few or many people on the stage ? Does it 
suddenly or gradually fill or empty? Is a spectacular 
effect aimed at? By what means? 

d. Is the background sympathetic? contrasted? con- 
tributory to action or mood? convincingly realistic? neu- 
tral? 

See other questions for Heightening; Naturalness; 
Contrasts in characters, costumes, and settings; En- 
trances and Exits; Interpolations. 



VIII. The Style 

a. Characterize the author as to the following general 
stylistic points, citing illustrative passages from the play 
where advisable: (1) Obviousness vs. profundity of 
thought. (2) Simplicity vs. obscurity in expression. (3) 
Imagination. (4) Sentiment vs. sentimentality. (5} 
Wit vs. humor. (6) Irony and satire. (7) Eloquence 
(8) Epigrammatic force. (9) Use of classical and 
literary allusion. (10) Use of figures of speech. (11) 
Occurrence of the memorable phrase, the "inevitable 
word." (12) By its cleverness does the style ever dis- 
tract your attention from the dramatist's thought? 



22 STUDYING THE PLAY 

b. ( 1 ) Is the play written in prose, in blank verse, in 
rhymed verse, in some other form, or in a mixture of 
two or more forms? Define the fundamental medium. 
Why has this fundamental medium been selected? 
Where there is a mixture of several forms, try to deter- 
mine specifically the functions of the various media (as 
to mark difference in mood, to set off the "play within a 
play," to point the "sentence," to serve as "tag," and the 
like). How well adapted are they to their respective 
uses? Where there is a mixture, can you, in a general 
way, indicate the proportionate amounts of the various 
forms? (2) Analyze and criticize any special metrical 
or stanzaic effects (as in A Thousand Years Ago). (3) 
Analyze any peculiar prose effects (as in Maeterlinck). 
(4) Point out and analyze any particularly striking tone- 
color effects (as, "Wha£, would.^ thou have a serpent 
st'mg thee £wice?"). 

c. Criticize the dialogue. (1) Does it sharply, vividly, 
and condensedly express character? (2) Is it natural in 
tone? (3) Does it pique the attention by a constant 
ripple of small surprises? (4) Does every speech pro- 
duce a distinct change in the mental attitudes of the 
speakers? (5) Is every speech crystal clear to the audi- 
tor? (6) Is every superfluous word elided? (7) Are 
the speeches climaxed, or do they weaken as they end? 
(8) Watch for cases of peculiar power of suggestion in 
the use of words. Cite. (9) Are the speeches gener- 
ally long, or with brief interruptions? or do they vary 
greatly in length? Or is the dialogue almost uniformly 
snappy? (10) Is any attempt made to balance speech 
against speech as to length (cf. Greek and Senecan 
stichomithia) ? Or to give a balance involving repetition 
of form in successive speeches? (1) Is there any tend- 
ency toward the use of special devices of sentence struc- 
ture, diction, or prose rhythm (cf. Lyly's euphuism) ? 
(12) Do the characters vary from each other in speech 
as to sentence length ; sentence complexity ; correctness, 
appropriateness, and suggestiveness of diction ; use of 



STUDYING THE PLAY 23 

figures of speech; mannerisms; conciseness; music of 
language? Does the particular stage situation modify 
their natural manner of speech? Naturally? (13) If 
dialect is employed, how far is the dialectal effect de- 
pendent upon mere bad spelling or mispronunciation, on 
the use of conventional tag-words, on word-order, on 
idiom, on rhythm, or on thought? (14) Are there any 
speeches that will not deliver well? (15) Note any 
special stylistic idiosyncrasies or mannerisms of the au- 
thor. (16) Is the style at any point obviously based upon 
the style of any other author? 

d. (1) Are the stage directions mere stage manager's 
notes, or are they given at length and with literary pol- 
ish? Do they approximate the effect of a description in 
a novel? (2) Do they contain material that could plainly 
not be represented on the stage? If so, what is the au- 
thor's purpose? 

e. Is there any unevenness in the writing of the play? 
If so, can you account for it on any ground, as, for in- 
stance, a mixture of an old and a revised form, or inter- 
polations by another hand, or haste? Discuss. 

/. *What brief passage or passages in the play do you 
find most impressive ? Why ? *Are they worth commit- 
ting to memory? 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE 

The following works are among those in English most 
illuminating in connection with various phases of play- 
analysis. Those especially valuable for their respective 
purposes are starred. 

*Archer, W., Playmaking ; A Manual of Craftsmanship. 

Boston, 1912. 
*Baker, G. P., Dramatic Technique. Boston, 1919. (As 

to details of composition.) 
♦Burton, R., How to See a Play. New York, 1914. 



24 STUDYING THE PLAY 

Carter, H., The New Spirit in Drama and Art (New 
York, 1913) ; The Theatre of Max Remhard (Lon- 
don, 1914). 
*Chandler, F. W., Aspects of Modern Drama. New 
York, 1914. (Analysis of social viewpoints.) 
Cheney, S., The New Movement in the Theatre (New 
York, 1914) ; The Art Theatre (New York, 1917) ; 
The Open-Air Theatre (New York, 1919). 
Clark, B. H., The Continental Drama of Today (New 
York, 1914) ; The British and American Drama of 
Today (New York, 1915) ; ^European Theories of 
the Drama (Cincinnati, 1918). 
Craig, E. G., *On the Art of the Theatre (Chicago, 
1911) ; Towards a New Theatre (London, 1913) ; 
The Theatre — Advancing (Boston, 1919). 
Hamilton, C. M., Materials and Methods of Fiction 
(New York, 1908) ; The Theory of the Theatre 
(New York, 1909); Studies in Stagecraft (New 
York, 1914) ; Problems of the Playwright (New 
York, 1917). 
Fansler, H. E., The Evolution of Technic in Eliza- 
bethan Tragedy. Chicago, 1914. 
^Henderson, A., The Changing Drama. New York, 1917. 
*Krows, A. E., Play Production in America. New York, 

1916. 
*Lewisohn, L., The Modern Drama. New York, 1915. 
Matthews, J. B., A Study of the Drama (Boston, 
1910) ; ^Shakespeare as a Dramatist (New York, 
1913); A Book About the Theatre (New York, 
1916) ; The Principles of Playmaking (New York, 
1919). 
♦Moderwell, H. K., The Theatre of Today. New York, 
1914. (Staging.) 
Phelps, W. L., The Twentieth Century Theatre. New 

York, 1918. 
Shaw, G. B., Dramatic Opinions and Essays. New 
York, 1907. 
*Thorndike, A. H., Shakespeare's Theatre. New York, 
1916. 



